


First Love (Whizzvin)

by Nova_Galactic



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:35:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 10,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28283313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nova_Galactic/pseuds/Nova_Galactic
Summary: Marvin had been with Trina about half a decade. They wanted him to be straight? Fine, he could do that... Get with a woman he wasn't attracted to and succumb to the heteronorm that everyone else was.  Sure, he wasn't actually straight, or even remotely attracted to women, but he couldn't exactly let his strictly Jewish parents know that he was a queer man that was even questioning whether he actually believed in God...Enter Whizzer Brown, charming, sexy... but most importantly, gay. Slowly but very surely, he makes his sweet way into Marvin's heart. But there's one problem: Trina doesn't know she's being cheated on... Marvin's not all that good at telling people the truth, see...Suddenly, it's 1978, and Marvin has to make a huge decision: divorce his wife and leave his child to run away with the love of his life? Or stay, and face the world with the wrong heart and wrong mindset, living uncomfortably for the rest of his life.
Relationships: Dr. Charlotte & Cordelia & Marvin (Falsettos), Jason & Marvin (Falsettos), Jason & Whizzer Brown, Marvin & Trina (Falsettos), Trina/Mendel Weisenbachfeld, Whizzer Brown & Trina, Whizzer Brown/Marvin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Prologue

Marvin's POV

1977, March 1st

\--

"I need to clear my head a bit, Trin. I think I'll be a couple hours..." I sighed gently. It was a pretty cold night, and I wasn't having the best of evenings as it was. It was something about the uncomfortable silence between us that had been held since I came home from work that said I had to break it by leaving.

"Fine, okay" Trina muttered, somewhat reluctantly.

I nodded, grabbing a jacket on my way out. The air was crisp, and I had to quickly shrug the jacket on and pull it around me tighter to stop myself shivering. I had no goal in mind, nowhere I wanted to be, so I just kept walking. Eventually, I heard faint music coming from the end of a street that I'd never noticed before, that just seemed to be full of clubs. 

It's like the music attracted me, because before I knew it, I was wandering through the front door of the bar, the music growing gradually louder as I drew closer and closer. The scene inside was nothing but alive. There were men everywhere, talking among themselves and having the odd drink. It wasn't until I saw a good three or four men in drag when I realised that I'd stumbled across a gay bar and let myself inside.

"Never seen you around here before..." someone spoke on my left, and I glanced over quickly to spot a man wearing a mint button down and smiling softly at me through his gentle wisps of brown hair that had fallen over his face.

I shrugged. "I live a few blocks away, but I needed time away from home. Just walked through town and now I'm here"

He chuckled, sliding into the seat next to me. "Ohh right. I hear you, don't worry. What's the story?"

"Girlfriend... No, wife..." I muttered. His face fell and I gave a little sigh in the hopes he'd sorta understand. "No, not like that... I-I'm gay, I don't love her, I just don't know what to do... I wanna get away from it all, y'know?"

His expression softened again. "Oh... Yeah, no, I know what you're getting at. Well, you're definitely in the right place for it. I'm Whizzer" the guy held out his hand with a light grin. 

I took it and we spent a moment in a brief shake.

"Marvin" I smiled warily in return. 

Whizzer's brown eyes sparkled with the lights bouncing through the room. "How long did you tell her you'd be?"

"A few hours at best.."

"Perfect. Can I get you a drink, maybe?"


	2. A grand spring afternoon in some shed that happens to be mine

Marvin's POV

1978, September 17th

\--

Eventually, after a few long months of getting to know each other, Whizzer and I started dating. He either forgot about my wife or wasn't really bothered. If he'd forgotten though, I wasn't about to remind him. It felt nice to finally getting with a guy I liked, so I wasn't going to remind him that actually, I couldn't do this because I was married, and in fact, had a nine year old son to hand as well. 

A lot of things happened in the first nine weeks. Whizzer was just introduced to Trina as a friend, and she thankfully thought nothing of it. He snuck in sometimes, mostly when she wasn't around, and we were barely ever caught. 

It was fine. We were pretty gay, it was all good.

Well, until Trina casually decided to check up on me. She'd pushed open the door of the shed at quite possibly the worst moment. Whizzer's head shot up and his eyes widened fully as his face turned red. He broke away from me, and that's when I realised what was going on. My face flushed bright red too. 

"T-Trina!"

Her own eyes narrowed. "A friend, Marvin?!" She muttered through her teeth. "I can't believe you let me believe that"

"Whizzer... Can you give us a moment?" I asked awkwardly. He nodded in understanding, and Trina and I took this outside. 

"Don't bother defending yourself here. What the hell was that?"

"He's my boyfriend" I sighed, pursing my lips into a tight line. "I mean, as of late"

"Well, how long?"

"The last nine weeks. I never wanted any of this. I didn't want to get this far with you, not to Jason, not to us getting married..."

"That's rich. You didn't want this? Then why did you marry me anyway? To pity yourself? To stick to something normal?"

"Hey-" I tried to protest, my eyebrows furrowing in shock. 

"Oh, come on. It's you, there's no normal"

"Clearly, I was trying. I can't help that I'm gay, Trin"

"Sure... Hey, next time, take a better approach to figuring that out. Y'know, don't sneak a guy into your shed and have sex with him when you think I'm not looking... I'm not even gonna start thinking about the fact that this won't be the first time. Actually, I've got a question" she mused, drawing my eyes towards hers. Her face showed an expression of mild anger and slight frustration, but I figured that should be fairly obvious to me. "Do you really love me?"

The answer took me a while. She really was an amazing person, and the last five years haven't been so bad considering I've never felt attracted to her. "It's complicated" I replied eventually, releasing a quick sigh. I shook my head. "You are an... Incredible woman, and someone's perfect partner, but I don't think I've ever really loved you like that and honestly? Not sure I ever will love a woman"

She nodded. A slow breath was exhaled from her lips. "Well, at least you're honest" she muttered, slightly deflated. 

"C'mere baby" I hummed, not exactly regretting what I'd said but somehow feeling a little bad for it anyway. I walked over to her and pulled her I to an apologetic sort of hug. She returned the favour as I muttered "I know you just gave up there, but that could've gone a lot worse than what it did. You wanna scream at me, go ahead, but I've gotta ask you back... Do you love me?"

"Sorta... I don't know.. I'm sorry, Marv"

"Don't apologise, it's my fault. I don't tell you anything. I've literally told my psychiatrist more... Look, I know your father might kill me, but I think we should have to call this off" my hands fell on her shoulders and she looked over to me. "Cos, what's the point in marriage if neither party loves each other?"

"You're just gonna run off with Whizzer anyway, but... What about Jason? He's only 9..."

"I think he understands more than he means to. By now, I think he's figured out there's something wrong... Still, I'll go talk to him... If we're really gonna do it..."

"Maybe you're right about this. It might be a good plan" she resigned with a slow nod. "You can stay here if you want though... Until you find a place..."

Thank you... Yeah, I'll go talk to him" I nodded quietly and walked away towards the house. I couldn't help but wonder why that went so well. She must've given in, I supposed. What if she did still love me though, and she was just saying she didn't to preserve the no I'd basically already given? I shot a glance back at her before I vanished around the corner and she was no longer in view.

I brought this upon myself, and so far, I know this is either gonna spiral way out of my control, it's gonna fall and become something awful, or... Somehow, it might go even slightly well. But, divorcing my wife? Leaving Jason? Honestly it's a lot to think about... But at the same time, very worth it, since the ultimate end to any of those paths is Whizzer.


	3. If it's already going down it can't possibly get worse

Trina's POV

\--

What's to lose? I told myself, still standing outside of the shed as I watched Marvin trail into the house to talk to Jason. I'm already becoming a single parent with a nine year old... What's talking to my husband's love interest going to do?

Something in my head recalled that I'd only ever really been introduced to Whizzer by name, and I didn't have much to go on. Part of me at least wanted to find out what he was like, and along with it, what got Marvin so interested. 

So, out of much of my better judgement, I knocked on the shed door. Slowly. Carefully. Almost like I didn't really want to do it at all. 

Luckily, the guy on the other side of the door actually had pants on this time. He presented me with a smile; it was something equally as hesitant as what I was feeling, but still somehow warm and inviting.  
"Yeah... I saw Marv leave..." He hummed quietly.  
I closed the door behind me and sighed softly. He shuffled up against the wall, still sat on the desk. To me, the chair seemed a bit more inviting, so I pulled it up and sat down. 

There was a pause of awkward silence, a beat that neither of us were really ready for. 

He broke the air by taking in a breath. "You're his wife then, huh?" He ran a hand through his dark hair and tried to act casual about it.

"Did you know?" I asked cautiously, not ready for this to be new information to him. 

"Yeah... I knew... He told me just before I actually met you, but yeah, I knew he was married. I mean, we were pretty drunk the first time I snuck in, and by that point I didn't care... Obviously you've crossed my mind before..."

"This isn't an interrogation, it's okay, I just wanted to know whether you knew about me"

"Mhm, yeah I did. I guess I owe it to you to apologise? I mean, how long have you been together?"

"Just about six years, but I think we aren't gonna last much longer anyway, so it's fine" I muttered.

"I- okay..." he didn't seem to register the last part I'd said at first, but when he did, he stopped. "wait, really? Oh shit, I'm sorry..."

"What for?"

"That's on me, isn't it?" He mumbled, biting his bottom lip. "You were out there talking about divorce, just cos I said yes when he asked me out" he sighed.

"No! It's nothing to worry about, I wasn't blaming you, and I'm sure as hell that Marvin isn't either" honestly, I wasn't quite sure if I was blaming him or not. Really, it was on Marvin, I couldn't just blame Whizzer.

"I kinda wish we got a proper introduction... Something better than sitting in our S.O's shed, and whatever the hell we got the first time around... I'm sorry but I barely remember your name"

I hummed quietly in agreement. "It's Trina" I reintroduced, "and I know it's not the best time for any of this, but you're not bad"

"Thanks, Trina. You seem pretty nice yourself... Yet, here we are, bonding over Marvin" he let out a light chuckle. "And, I'm Whizzer, by the way, since we were doing the introduction thing again"

I laughed softly. ".'bonding over Marvin' is a very good way to put it"

"Where'd he go anyway?" Whizzer tilted his head slightly. "there isn't a problem, is there?"

"No, he went to go talk to Jason" I explained simply, earning nothing in return but a look which seemed more confused than previously.

"I feel like I should know who that is but I'm gonna ask anyway. Who's Jason?"

"...Our son?"

His eyes widened. "You have a son?!"

I paused. His expression looked more surprised than shocked or horrified, just as if Marvin had forgotten to mention him altogether. "Yeah, he's just like Marvin. Looks a bit like him too"

"Oh! How old is he?" He seemed genuinely interested. There was a little smile on his face, and in the tiny bit of silence I held, he pushed back a strand of his hair and leaned forward, arms on his knees and head in his hands. "What's he like?"

"About nine and a half" I smiled gently. "uh, we were already dating when we had him. What's he like? He'd incredibly smart... Nobody knows where he got that, but yeah. Sweet kid, but sorta introverted and not too chatty"

"He sounds great, honestly. I suppose I'm going to anyway at this rate, but I'd like to meet him someday"

"I don't suppose you won't. I've given Marvin the time to find a place of his own if this goes ahead. There's definitely a spare room, you're not gonna have to sleep in the shed when you come again" I teased. 

He nodded. "Nice, an upgrade!"

"Wait, you haven't actually slept in the shed, have you?"

"Well, I've been asleep in the shed, but it wasn't an overnight thing. You asked generally though, so... Yeah, I've slept in this shed before today"

"No kidding?"

"Nah, for real. This table's more comfortable than you think. Marvin didn't manage to tell me I'd been out for three hours though. That was last Saturday, I think" he laughed.

"Welcome to Marvin. He's sorta tough, but one thing is he makes you take care of yourself if you need it. Guess you just needed sleep"

"I guess... Yeah, he's good when he wants to be. So..." He paused, tone becoming slightly softer as he shuffled a bit to keep himself comfortable. "You're splitting?"

"Apparently" I sighed, a little deeper than I cared to admit. "No point in trying to stop it now"

"Do you... Do you want to stop it?"

"I'm not sure... He loves you... What's the difference if he stays with me? Like I said, it's not me he wants to stay with"

He gave a quiet nod, but he didn't say anything else. Neither did I. I didn't want to ruin something, because it looked like he and I were more than just rivals of a significant other.


	4. A meeting, except he's 10 and I'm nervous

Whizzer's POV

\--

The silence didn't last very long between me and Trina, because Marvin wandered back into the shed. 

"Hey Marv" I grinned softly, attracting Trina's attention and making her turn towards him. "Everything okay?"

He nodded, directing his eyes more towards Trina. Before he said anything, he seemed to remember something he'd forgotten. His eyes quickly fell on me before they darted back to Trina.

"He knows about Jason" she clarified, and I nodded. 

"I'm sorry, I forgot. I guess I thought I'd already mentioned him" he apologised

"Don't worry about it, yeah?" I shook my head. "What did he say about you two?"

"I don't know really. He saw it coming I guess. But if I'm honest I think he's as confused as everyone here"

I watched Trina's face soften with relief from my side-on angle. "I think I saw that coming" she sighed a little. 

"There's something else though" Marvin continued. "He said he wanted to make his own conclusions... From Whizzer"

My eyes widened a little. "Me?! Um, I'm sorry... Jason wanted to see me?"

"Yeah, that's basically what he said. If you're gonna look for him, his room's first on the left when you go up the stairs"

I nodded, stood up, and walked out of the shed. I suddenly realised just how nervous I was as I was pacing the garden. This was a kid, for Pete's sake. I shouldn't be so nervous about a child, but here I was, worried about what he'd think of me, worried about how I was gonna seem, and mostly worried about what he was gonna ask and what Marvin had already said. 

My thoughts brought me up the stairs of Marvin's house, a place I'd never been to beyond a few rooms, and especially not upstairs. First door on the left, I reminded myself, and looked around. When I found it, the door was already open, but I knocked anyway before walking inside. Inside, there was only one person, a small curly haired boy sat on the bed. My eyes met his. 

"You're Jason?" I asked, in the off chance that it happened to be someone else. 

He nodded. "Yeah, and you're..."

"Whizzer. Marvin's boyfriend?"

"Oh!" He turned round to face me and offered the space on the other side of the bed. I sat down across from him and he gave a small smile. "Nice to meet you, Whizzer"

"You too, Jason. Marvin said you wanted to talk to me?"

Jason thought for a moment. "Yeah. Dad just said he had a boyfriend... Well, he got there eventually after saying he was splitting with mom. I just wanted to... Y'know, talk to you. See what you were like"

Marvins kid seemed nice, actually, and I wanted him to take to me, so I could make a decent impression at least. "oh yeah, fair enough. But, I'm not really a top conversationalist, so this might not be as interesting as you hope" I admitted. "Trina told me a bit about you, actually. We talked a bit when Marvin was in here"

"What did she say?" He asked, tilting his head a little bit.

"Nothing bad, don't worry. Just little things like how you're a fair bit like Marv and... Oh! She brought up something about a League?"

"Yeah, I play baseball. But I haven't been going long, never played a proper game"

"I used to play too, when I was younger. I love it"

"Really?" His eyes lit up a bit. "We're you good?"

I chuckled softly. "I hit enough to score enough, but I wasn't exactly baseball card worthy, like Mickey Mantle"

"Like Mickey Mantle? Sounds cool, who's he?"

"He played for the Yankees. Kinda... Why I like baseball so much, if you're catching my drift"

He nodded a little. "I can't really bat, otherwise I'd be quite good. I mean, I can bowl okay, and I'm not bad at the running part, but I always miss" he paused for a moment, thinking something over. "Hey, if I ever get to playing a proper game, you wanna come along and watch?"

I grinned. Now I was definitely wanting to stick around for as long as possible, he seemed really passionate about baseball, and he was pretty nice to go alongside it. Maybe this was gonna be easier than I thought. "Sure thing, Jason!" I agreed

"Dad hates baseball. I'm glad someone around here likes it" Jason hummed, looking right at me. 

"Do you know much about it?" I asked curiously. 

"A few names here and there, but not much other than techniques, to be honest"

"Still, that's a lot more than a lot of people, especially Marv. I mean damn, you can tell he doesn't like it, he literally knows nothing besides how to hold the bat"

Jason laughed. "No, you're right! He took me to a game once and I had to think about the game and tell him about it at the same time"

"That's Marv for you. He seriously won't pay attention at all if it's something he doesn't like"

"Does he like you?"

"I sure hope so, at least. We've been going out more than two months"

"You do know he can't cook for the hell of him, don't you?" He muttered honestly, with enough humour behind the statement to make me laugh. "Please tell me you know that he can't cook. I'm trying to save you a burned kitchen and awful food..."

"I think I know he can't cook. He told me, but that's okay! Because luckily for him, I can cook, so that makes one of us. And that's okay because as far as I'm aware, you're absolutely right, Marvin can't cook for the life of him..."

He nodded again. "Oh is that why he's dating you? Was that one of the first things he asked you?" he teased.

"I know you're joking but honestly, he did ask if I could cook better than he could, somewhere within the first two dates. At this point I'd been out with him for about a fortnight? And he was talking like he wanted me to live with him till he turned old and died."

"Really? So you can cook then? That's good, more for him than you of course, because now he doesn't have to learn to cook, but at least that means you're probably gonna stick around?" He asked. I didn't know if it was just me, but he sounded kinda hopeful. 

"I want to stick around, Jason. There's just something about Marv... Sure he's a bit of a jackass at times but y'know he's a nice guy actually. I plan on sticking around"


	5. This is more official than I thought and I'm not at all prepared for it

Whizzer's POV

1978, October 3rd

\--

The phone rang in my apartment so suddenly that it managed to startle me. I was fairly tired, and to be fair, I definitely wasn't expecting anyone calling.   
But, I picked up anyway, slightly confused. "Uh, yeah... hello?"

"Hey, Whiz. Is this a bad time? You sound exhausted..."

I smiled softly when I heard the familiar tone of Marvin flood my ear. Okay so maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to hear when I was tired. 

"Hi, Marv! Oh god no, don't worry, I've just had a pretty long day, that's all. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I've got an update"

In the last weeks, he'd really been trying to sort things out with Trina. When he and I met up, he'd told me about a couple things. How they were sleeping apart- and he'd taken the spare room as promised- and how they'd filed for the papers they needed only three days ago. I'd also been told things like the fact that she isn't dating, and part of him feels a bit bad about it.

"An update, huh? What's going on, then?" I leaned back into my couch, hoping my sorta short phone cord would reach that far. 

"Actually... It's less of an update really, not this time. Don't worry, I just have to ask you something first"

"Okay... Go ahead, Marv"

"Right... Well, this could be an update if you agree, but I wanted to know... Do you wanna move in with me? We can sort your apartment out later"

"You want me to move in with you?" I asked, now leaning forward towards the phone in intrigue. A little grin was plastered on my face from the moment I heard the question. 

"Well, yeah!" 

I couldn't help but laugh a little in delight. It was basically an offer I couldn't refuse. Only three months or so into this wild little thing we're calling a relationship, and he asked if I'd be the next part in his slightly dysfunctional family. 

Honestly? I was honoured.

"Y'know I'd love to, Marv! I can start boxing stuff tomorrow... Don't panic, I'll probably not fit more than one to be honest with you. This apartment can keep its furniture."

I heard him chuckle quietly on the other side of the phone line. "Oh yeah that's the place with that couch where you're probably best off on the floor, right?"

"Mhm, this is the place. I'll be glad to see the back of this damn couch though. I'll get arthritis before I'm 40 at this rate"

"You're further away from 40 than I remembered. I forgot you're actually younger than me for a second there-"

"Hey, I'm 35. Don't go calling me old just yet, not when you're bordering 40 yourself" I teased.

"I'm not even 38-"

"Give it a week. You'll be old in no time!"

This time, he actually laughed. "Oh... Oh no I'm 38 in a week. Whizzer I can already feel myself going grey..."

I laughed too. We didn't really riff off each other like this a lot, but it was always funny when it did happen. 

"Anyway..." he hummed after the line drew quiet. "If you need me over there tomorrow I'd be happy to come help you pack"

"Thanks, Marv. But, I don't know... Hopefully it'll only take the morning, stuff to go to a thrift store, stuff to come with you... And the rest I'm leaving. So, unless you just wanna be around, I'm not gonna need an extra hand"

"I'll just go out acting like you need a hand... With the thrift store stuff for example!"

"Fair enough, I'll see you tomorrow then, yeah?"

"Okay. See you later, Whizzer"

\--

The next morning, I found myself up and prepared at probably thee earliest time I had ever managed. So, I was already waiting for Marvin by the time he arrived. 

"Oh! You brought the boxes with you? You didn't have to, there's a dollar store a block away..." When I opened the door, I found Marvin stood there with flat packed boxes under his arm. I stood back to let him in, and at the same time, slipped the boxes from under his arm to start to build it.

"Yeah, I just thought I'd make a quick stop on the way here so you didn't have to" he shrugged. 

"Fair. Thanks for the boxes" I paused for a moment, just as I finished assembling the final box. "Wait... Everyone knows you asked me to move in, don't they?"

"Yeah.. well, everyone who needs to know knows"

I nodded, then motioned Marvin to pick up one of the boxes as the two of us headed into my room. On my bed there was already a small pile of books from when I quickly sorted a few things earlier that morning. "I can't decide what to thrift. Can't keep everything, can I?"

Marvin scanned the couple of shelves strung along a wall of my room. "I dunno, keep everything that means something, thrift the rest"

His eyes landed on a photo frame leaning against an old book end. "Wait a minute, who's that?" He looked up at it, and so did I. It was a simple little graduation photo, I remembered it well, actually. Standing by the fountains with him, arms around each other's shoulders and grinning like idiots.

"That? That's my older brother, Tanner, at his college graduation" I looked at the little bit of shock that had crept into his face and I nodded slightly in realisation. "I... Didn't tell you I have a brother, did I?"

He shook his head.

"I didn't think so... Sorry... Well anyway, he can't be that much older than you, really... Let's see... I was born in August '43, your birthday is October '42... His is March '42, so yeah, about half a year... give or take"

Marvin gave a little nod. "Take that with you, I don't wanna find that in the bottom of the thrift box"

"Will do" I grinned a little bit, laying it on the bed beside the books and various other items I planned on keeping. Then it hit me, if Marvin wasn't here, I'd probably just keep anything and everything I found. There wouldn't be a part of any apartment that I wouldn't keep with me at any given time of the day. I'm a huge hoarder.

"Tell me about it" I heard Marvin mumble, and then it hit me that I'd said at least part of that out loud.

"Sorry, what?" I hummed, turning towards him. Some part of my brain said play dumb, like you didn't just hear him call you a hoarder, and for some reason I went along with it. 

"You said you're a hoarder. I was agreeing" He teased, though a little bit of me couldn't tell whether that was meant to be serious. "Any guy who wasn't a hoarder would already know what to leave behind and what to take with him..."

"Yeah, yeah... But I'm not a normal guy am I? I'm a gay hoarder. I'm actually having a problem deciding for anything in this room alone"

Marvin laughed. "We'll start from some corner, and work from there. Let's get down to business"


	6. Boxes, baseball and bad boyfriends

Marvin's POV

"I'm coming to the thrift store with you. I don't wanna show up at home with no you and make them think you weren't coming with" I hummed, lifting the box that Whizzer was moving in with. "Besides, I came with the lift"

"I was never really saying you couldn't come, it's just a bit pointless. It's only one box" Whizzer lifted the other box, bearing a gentle smile.

"Wait! Oh, I know you would... You've forgotten that picture of you and your brother" I reached down below the box and picked up the frame, sliding it into my box beside the books. "Where did you say he was again?"

"After college, he went off to Belgium. Said I'd see him again in about 10 years. That, if I'm not wrong, is in the middle of '79 sometime"

"Oh? He's coming back to New York?"

"Mhmhmm! Yeah, it was a job placement, but it was only ten years, so I'll definitely be seeing him again before next summer"

"That's great, Whiz!"

"Tell me about it. I'm only glad his college course was really long so I got to see him for longer"

"What does he do?"

"Architecture. Belgium was a great starting point for him and his team, so they packed and went there to see what they could do"

We started to wander out of his apartment, boxes in hand. "Don't tell me you've been getting like, building plans and stuff through the post?"

"Occasionally, yep. Y'know, when he's really proud of something or whatever, sometimes I get pictures of plans" he nodded, locking the door behind us and sliding his key under the mat.

"Oh wow, that is cool" I mused with a smile. "Hey, do you think you're gonna miss this old place?"

"Ehh, I don't know... It's sorta rustic, and the building's nice, but I'll be glad not to be hearing the stairs or the neighbours, and I won't miss the broken heating"

\--

I dropped him off at the thrift store and watched from outside as he left the box around the back and talked to the cashier, presumably about the situation that led him to deliver an entire box of his stuff to them. By the time we made it home, Trina and Jason were already there. That came as a surprise to me, since Jason was supposed to be at a baseball game that Whizzer and I would've shown up late to.

"Wasn't there supposed to be a match?" I asked when I passed Jason, sounding more confused than anything.

"There was supposed to be a match?" Whizzer directed his question towards me, just over my shoulder.

From in front of us, Jason nodded. "Yeah... The game got cancelled this year... Apparently its a problem with the coach on the other team, and a few other people too... They're not well"

"oh..." Whizzer hummed, and he and I shared a knowing glance. He nodded a little. "Hold on, I'll be back in a minute. This box won't unpack itself"  
And with that, he vanished up the stairs. Jason watched until he was no longer in sight. 

"I'm sorry about the game, Jace" I hummed quietly. "Did you get told what they've changed the date to?"

"It's okay" he muttered. "No, uh, they don't know how long it's gonna be, so they just cancelled it altogether till next year"

"Maybe it's for the best. It's only gonna get colder from here, and that's when stuff gets worse. Don't worry though, I bet they're gonna be fine" I assured, though knowing if it was as bad as I thought it was, maybe they wouldn't be so fine. But, was I gonna tell a child that? Would I hell.

"Can I go help Whizzer unpack?"

"Sure. The bedroom at the back, you know the one?"

He nodded and left upstairs. After he'd gone I ventured to find Trina. When I did find her, it looked like she was in the middle of getting ready for something incredibly suave. "Well, look at you! Where are you heading?"

"I've got a date!" She grinned, straightening her skirt. "The man I met at the library a month back asked me out"

"The one you met at the library... Oh, Eddie? Right.." I was a little sceptical, because when I'd heard her talk about him, of found him just a bit weird. I was probably overreacting but I hoped he wasn't as weird as I thought.

"Yeah, Eddie. What's wrong?" She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Nothing, nothing... He's just a bit iffy. I'm not sure how I feel about him"

"Marvin, you're so judgemental! He's not that bad... Anyway, it's only one evening unless he likes me"

I let out a tiny sigh. "Alright... Sure, have a good evening"

"Thanks. He's waiting for me, so I better be off. See you tonight, Marv"

I stepped out of her way and caught a breath of her sweet smelling perfume as she passed. Not that I missed it a great deal, but I had to give her credit for the effort she went into to go on a date. As soon as I heard the front door, I went to check up on Whizzer and Jason, who I could hear from across the hall:

...In about three months, yeah

You've gotta go meet him on the first day!

You bet I am!

I wandered through the door, and saw Whizzer trying to reach to place something on the shelf, and Jason crushing the box. Whizzer heard me come in, and turned his head for a moment. "Was that Trina? Where's she off to?"

"She's got a date" I answered. "I've met the guy once and he seems a bit off. I dunno, I'm just a bit worried about her"

"Hey," Whizzer stopped and turned around to face me properly. "I'm sure she'll be fine, it's only a date... If she comes back hurt or not feeling okay, you know the guy's name, right?" 

"Eddie Collins"

"Kick his ass. I don't care if you don't love Trina any more, you're still worried about her because this guy might be creepy or something"

"I wouldn't know where to find him... It doesn't matter, I just really hope he isn't weird..."


	7. we made the preparations they weren't prepared to prepare

Trina's POV

December 24th, 1978

\--

So, as it happens, Marvin was right about Eddie. It was an awkward night, and even though I tried to ignore what he'd said, Eddie just kept proving it right, not to mention the fact that he was an hour late. I left early, but I don't ever wanna tell Marvin that.

Months later, when fate brought me into another long conversation with Whizzer, I decided I was going to tell someone at least.   
I went to make dinner, and found he was already in the kitchen, leading through what I initially thought was a book, but turned out to be hand written, almost like some kind of journal. His eyes trailed up when he heard me come in. "Oh, hey Trin!"

"Hi Whizzer, what's that?" I gestured towards the book in his hands as I leaned gently against the counter. 

"This? It's my grandfather's pride and joy. His recipes" he hummed, offering it over to me. "Dad was gonna give it to either me or my brother Tanner a few years ago, but Tanner's not really a cook, so I got it" he explained as I picked up the book and carefully flicked through each lovingly inked page and looked at the small, hand drawn sketches of the final product. 

"This is really nice" I found myself muttering as I filed through each page. 

"That's what I thought!" Whizzer agreed with a soft smile. "And, y'know, they usually taste as good as they look too"

"Are you a cook then, Whizzer?"

"I mean, I can cook, but I'm not exactly a professional. Pick one of those, something I can do with what you've got in, and I'll sort dinner tonight. You can help out if you want"

I nodded. "Sure! How about.." I flicked through the pages carefully, almost too scared to damage the book at all. One particular recipe caught my eye and I read it over. "... This one?" I handed the open book back and let him take a look at the page. 

He let out a quiet laugh. "Oh, this? This I can do. Could you have picked a better start to the holidays?"

"Does it have a story?" I asked as he stood up and prepared himself. 

"That one was his favourite... My grandfather, that is. I have plenty of memories involving trying to make it and absolutely failing. I've burned this more times than enough"

"I think I've seen this before some place. But, it doesn't look the same..." I commented

"He was a pretty traditional guy, to be fair. You probably have seen it before, but this one's sorta different. We added spices"

I hummed in interest. "We never made Latkes" I said out of the blue. "I'll do that, and you can get started on yours"

"Sure!" He nodded, and he and I set to trying to make a Hanukkah meal between the two of us. He started studying his grandfather's book, and I was busying myself with grating potatoes.

Suddenly I decided that the silence in our space could be filled with a confession, and it was honestly as good a time as any. "Hey, Whizzer?"

His eyes darted up from the ingredients. "Yeah?"

"I have a confession... Remember the date I went on in September?"

"Oh yeah! The one with Eddie? How'd that go?" He took a look at my face, and frowned. "Not so good?"

"I don't want to admit this to Marvin, but he was right. Eddie was... Weird. I left early, and I guess I'm too embarrassed to tmever tell him that. He'd freak, that's for sure, but part of me really wonders what he would do"

I watched the realisation cross his face. "Oh... But nothing happened after, right? And you're okay?"

"I'm fine, he didn't see me again after I left. Thanks, though, for the concern"

"It's what I do, Trina. And, don't worry, I won't tell Marvin" he promised as he slowly returned to the cooking. "He doesn't need to know he's right"

I laughed quietly. "Thank you. And, no, I guess you're right. He doesn't need to have a bigger ego"

"I bet he'd be concerned though. Through the ego"

"Yeah, I think so. But I won't worry him. Nothing too bad happened anyway"


	8. So it's 1979, and we don't go by the book

Trina's POV

April 22nd, 1979

\--

"Hi. Mendel, isn't it? Yeah, I'm Trina. Marvin said I should try this place. You've been seeing him for years, I think"  
I had, despite a lot of my better judgement, decided to actually visit a psychiatrist's office. Marvin had directed me to one when I'd decided my life was falling apart enough. Now, I was sat in front of him, looking into his kind eyes as he took a seat beside me. 

"You must be the ex wife he talks about, right?" He waited for my nod, then continued. "Okay. Well, I am Mendel, yeah, and I should probably start by asking what brings you here?"

"I... I want to say I still have... Well..." I sighed and ran a hand over my face. "I think I still like Marvin, and I don't know what to do about it"

"you still like Marvin?" I couldn't tell he sounded slightly awed by the decision that had stuck in my mind. Maybe he sounded a little disbelieving, but I couldn't exactly tell. "Okay, I hear you. Can I ask, though... Why do you think that?"

"I don't really know, I know he's sorta... A jackass, and I know he and Whizzer are happy, but I guess I'm just sentimental over, y'know, when I thought he loved me"

Mendel hummed with a gentle nod. "How long were you together, you and him?"

"Ten years, married for six"

"Okay, and did you enjoy it? Was it a good time?"

I leaned back in my seat a little, pressing my fingertips together gently by my lap. "Well, yeah. It was a pretty normal sort of relationship. Not overly traditional, cos of course, we had Jason for about four years before we got married. But the relationship itself was pretty fun when you think about the dates we went on and the few countable mishaps. Yeah, no, it was quite fun" I smiled in reminiscence.

"What makes him a jackass?"

"We fought a lot... Mostly difference in opinion but yeah, it was a fight all the same"

"He said the same thing about you. Well, a similar thing about the fact there was a lot of arguments, even when you were together. I suppose he meant that something like that would continue, beyond your divorce and onwards... Say, through other important dates to come" he leaned forwards a little, gently tapping the tip of his pen against his knee.

"I'm not saying I /want/ to fight with him, but he's probably not wrong... I feel like there's gonna be many more, especially through the important dates we have to go through together.."

"A lot of couples do it, Trina. I know you and Marvin aren't together anymore, but even so. Do you know if he argues with his boyfriend?"

"I mean, yeah, Marvin and Whizzer still live with us. I don't hear them argue a lot, but I know it gets sorta heated when they do" I explained, thinking back to the latest example I could manage.

Mendel hummed softly. "So, it's a Marvin thing, yeah?" he teased. "He's not as intimidating as he believes..."

That prompted a soft laugh out of me. "I can't say you're wrong there, doctor"

"Mendel is fine, I hate sounding too professional or.. Well, too out of reach. And yeah, Marvin has problems, and that's probably why. Although, not everything can be justified by his multitude of issues"

"Neither can it mine" I muttered shaking my head

"No, that's true, but but you won't be the only one guilty of arguing through your problems. Marvin is another, but a lot of people do it. You're a nice woman, try not to blame yourself for everything bad that's happening to you right now. You get me?"

I nodded. "I think so. Thank you, Mendel"

"My pleasure, Trina. If you feel the need to, you can come back next Friday"

"I don't suppose I won't be"  
And with that, I bid my goodbyes to Mendel and he showed me out. I walked out towards home feeling quite a bit better than I was. Mendel was really kind, and I was extremely glad to have been pointed in the right direction to him. He actually made me... Happier? Yeah, that was about as accurate as it would get. He was sweet, a really nice guy. 

And that was just about what I needed right now


	9. Someone can ask me where I went wrong... I loved him

Whizzer's POV

June 2nd, 1979

\--

"You ready to go?" I heard Marvin ask, leaning over the chess board with an expectant smile.

I looked down at the pieces, each one a specially carved slab of wood, elegantly carved to look like things I generally couldn't decipher. "Uh, I suppose? But, walk me through, though.." I'd decided that I'd give in to Marvin's offer of a game of chess, even though I had less than an idea how to play.

"That there," he pointed to a piece in the middle of the back row, "that's the king. You see the crown? Yeah, your job is to make sure you protect him. Use strategy, and you should be good to go. Across the front row are all pawns, easy to move and just as easy to discard. See, I don't think you'd mind much if one of those was taken, you have plenty, and a lot of better players right at your fingertips." Then, pointing to individual pieces beside the king, he started to list them off. "In the corners are the rooks, then those are the knights... Yeah, both ends from the corners are the same. Then the bishops, an the queen is next to the king"

"I'm guessing that's the easy part then?" I teased, though still rather serious at the same time. Remembering which piece was which was gonna be easy, but I doubted that was all I had to know.

"Yeah, basically. Which piece is which is the very basic of starting points. You've gotta know how they move as well..."

"I've seen Jason do this all the time, he makes this look so simple! Anyway, go on.. Tell me how I can move them"

Marvin nodded slowly and released a soft hum. "Okay, but pre-warning, I'm gonna be going on quite a while... Hope you're ready. The pawns.. On the first move only, they can go two squares forwards, but after that, it's only one square forwards, except when you're capturing a piece of mine, then they go one square diagonally..."

He was actually really good at explaining it. Maybe it was because he was so passionate about it that he managed to include every important detail he could manage. I had to scribble a few things down, because turned out, it was quite a lot to remember in all. I filled a good three sides of notebook paper owith chess strategies and how each piece moved across the board. In all honesty, it wasn't short of fascinating how much one person had to know in order to play a simple-looking game.

"Okay, so /now/ are we ready to play?" I asked eagerly. 

"Yeah, now we're ready to play" Marvin confirmed. "You can start, move a pawn, any pawn, but remember, two spaces max, just this turn"

I nodded. "I know, I know" My hand floated briefly over the queen, and I saw Marvin shake his head gently. "No?" I joked, fighting a soft laugh. "Okay.. This one, yeah," and I took one of the middle pawns and shifted it along the board two spaces.

"Not bad. Good first move" 

"Thanks. Take a turn?"

"Thank you kindly" He inclined his head in a teasing manner, and then observed his own pieces to move a pawn of his own, slightly to the left of my own. It was true, this was basically my first ever chess game, but it was pretty clear he was planning his slow but sure victory. Why? Against someone who's never played? Oh yeah, that was so Marvin. I wasn't surprised in the slightest, I've seen him play more violent games wiht Jason, after all.

Our game progressed. It was clear my moves were slow, and I barely knew what I was doing, but I sort of enjoyed watching each of his carefully planned strategy, and the very look of concentration adorning his face was almost funny to watch.

I screwed up more times than enough, but I had to quickly correct myself as I watched not only the look of concentration grow, but his increased frustration as well. I bit my lip; part of me knew I was doing something wrong, apparently I had been for months. It wasn't just this game, I'd seen this face a lot of times before. Though, it was yet to come to my attention what it was I was doing. Something, obviously. Something that if I don't fix, will probably cost me something huge. 

Honestly, I'm kinda scared, but if I don't even know what I'm doing wrong... How am I supposed to be scared?

"Maybe we should just start over, this game shits" Marvin sighed

"Yeah, maybe. You start this one" I hummed, shaking my head slowly.

He reset his pieces, and I made sure to follow his set up very carefully, after all I didn't want to make him somewhat madder. 

"Does that look right?" I asked nervously, looking between my chess set and his.

"Yeah, that's right Whiz. Anyway, you said I'm taking first move, yes?"

"Yeah, go ahead Marv" I prompted, and my eyes followed his hand all the way to completing his first move. A sigh escaped my own lips, barely audible as he lifted his hand away from the pawn. 

"Your turn" He almost sounded a little tired, like this game was going to end in exactly the same way the previous one had, and we would continue in an endless cycle like this for hours until he finally caved in. This gamae was played a lot better, actually, and I saw a tired sort of smile cross his lips, a sign enough for me that I was doing well, or at least, better. Then, my hand accidentally sliped following a move, knocking three or four pieces to the foor by my feet.

"Shit, I'm sorry Marv, I'll get them-" I muttered, reaching down toward the lost chess pieces. 

Marvin grabbed my hand.

"Don't bother" He intoned, bringing my gaze back up to meet his eyes. 

"Sorry, what? We can still go on... It's just a couple pieces, no big deal..."

"I said, don't bother Whizzer. It doesn't matter"

"Marv, are you alright?" Dangerous territory, Whizzer, I told myself mentally.

"Yeah, just fine" he answered. "God, you're such a screw up, aren't you?"

"Huh? What do you mean, it's just a game.."

"I'm not just talking about chess. Just, in general. You're a screw up, I hope to god you already know that, because it's true, ultimately. Actually, why don't you just leave, take the mistakes and the endless string of screw ups with you?"

I was speechless. "You're serious?" I stammered out, unable to think whether he was joking or not. However, his serious expression and the fact that he'd never been one to joke about stuff like that really made me think he was being deadly serious.

"Of course I'm serious. Go on, you know exactly where the stuff you brought along with you is, don't you?"

"Y-yeah... Yeah I do... But, Marv-"

I decided not to continue that, because it was pointless. He knew what he wanted. I nodded, and said no more as I stood up from the table and departed as fast as I could and not taking a second to look back. Why was he kicking me out? I'll probably never know, and at this point, I'm way too afraid to ask. 

I found my case, and from there went to head up the stairs. But, I accidentally ran into Trina on the way.

"Whizzer?"

"Hey Trin... How's Mendel?" I tried to sound at least slightly upbeat, knowing full well that she had gotten together with Marvin's psychiatrist about a month ago, so I decided to ask about him to take my mind off everything else. 

"He's... Okay, maybe the sweetest guy I've ever dated... What's wrong? And what's with the case?"

I looked down to my hand, then back up to her. "How do you know something's up?" I asked.

"One, nobody trails a case upstairs for no reason... Two, I'm a mother, hun, I know exactly when something's wrong..."

I laughed dryly. "Of course, a mother. Heh, well, that answers my question, doesn't it?"

"So, what? Wait, don't tell me something happened between you and Marvin?"

"He lost his shit. I'm leaving, he just told me to get up, pack, and not come back, so..." Regretful tears filled my eyes, and even though I'd bitten mylip to stop the flow, I fet a hot streak run down my face and found it pointless to try and hold off anything else. "Yeah, I'm heading out, I guess..."

"Oh, Whizzer... I'm so sorry"

"No no, don't blame yourself, you're fantastic, Mendel's really lucky. It's my own fault, probably..."

A genuine look of concern crossed her face, as it seemed something quite important crossed her mind. "Wait, where are you staying? Tell me you've got a place"

"I need to call my brother... I told you about him? Yeah, I don't think he wouldn't let me up for a while, he and I are fairly close"

She nodded, a sigh of relief passing her. "Okay, good. I hope to see you later, you're not bad, Whizzer..."

"You too, Trina" I smiled sadly. "Well, I suppose I'll see you around" I waved, and headed upstairs to finally begin packing.

_Hey, Tanner?_

_..._

_I know, I haven't seen you since January_

_..._

_I'm okay, yeah. Not bad. Yoursef?_

_..._

_Good! Hey, I've got a favour to ask of you... I really hope you don't mind_

_..._

_You sure?_

_..._

_Thanks so much, Tanner. Um, my boyfriend broke up with me, he kicked me out_

_..._

_Sorry?_

_..._

_Oh... No, it's my fault I think_

_..._

_Anyway, yeah, the favour... Can I possiby take that spare room in your apartment?_

_..._

_Oh, you've got a girlfriend? Will she mind?_

_...._

_She doesn't live with you anyway? Oh lord thank you so much, I owe you one, Tan_

_..._

_No really! But really, thank you._

That phonecall was the story of, as I finished throwing shirts and the like into a case, that I managed to find a place to sleep within ten minutes of being broken up with.

So, woth that: tear tracks staining my face, a full case and a heavy heart, I left the house for the last time, hailed a cab, and headed out towards my brotoher downtown.


	10. He's gone, I'm gone, but somehow the shrink stays

Trina approached me from the moment I heard the door slam on who I presumed to be Whizzer. I was still sat over the table, staring down at the disassembled chess board that he'd left behind. When I saw Trina enter the room, I stopped warily. 

"Marvin, I have to ask you something"  
There was something of a stern expression about her that made me we've so slightly anxious.

"You've got the floor, you might as well. What did you want to ask?"

"Is it true, what Whizzer told me? That you kicked him out?"

I should've seen that coming. Trina and Whizzer had built a but of a friendship in the months of been with him. So, it was definitely expected that she was going to ask about him. 

"Yeah, that's true. Was that him leaving just then?" I still had an internal safe of pent up anger from ten minutes ago, and I was both extremely prepared and totally unprepared to snap at any given moment. 

"It was, yeah. In tears, Marvin. Why did you do it?!"

"He's a royal screw up and I'd already past it with chances" I muttered bitterly. Most of that I was still departing over in reality, but it was true enough.

"No he's not, you manipulative piece of shit. He's anything but! What did you manage to come up with to tell him he'd screwed up on this time?"

"I didn't"

"Oh, so you you didn't even tell him why he was leaving?! I swear... You helped him sell his apartment last year, so aren't you lucky he's got a brother to bunk with?"

"I'd forgotten about the apartment, but yes. In a way, I'm very grateful for Tanner right about now"

"He wouldn't need to use such a lifeline if it wasn't for you. I can't believe you, Marvin" she hissed before turning on her heel and leaving. About a quarter of an hour later, I heard her on the phone, using 'you' and 'Whizzer' intermittently, so I had a wild guess he'd just reached wherever he was going. 

\--

//Several months later//

I was promised that I could stay with Trina until I could sort something out, and since I wasn't with Whizzer any more, and since everyone in the house was still vaguely salty about my actions, I decided there was no better time than to move out. 

I took with me basically anything that belonged to me and found a welcoming sort of apartment near to the more quiet part of New York. 

On the morning when I was unpacking my stuff, after a night of sleeping on the couch this place came with, I heard a knock at my door. So, I laid down the box I was working on and opened the door to two women; one blonde and the other dressed for work in a doctor's office. 

"I thought we heard the U-HAUL last night!" The blonde one grinned. "you're the new neighbour, then?"

"Yeah, I guess I am. I'm Marvin" I introduced.

"I'm Cordelia!"

"And I'm Charlotte" the other introduced, with half the energy but the same amount of excitement and genuineness. "We live across the hall"

"Are you together, or is this just the roommate situation?"

"Are you gonna judge the answer?" Charlotte asked defensively.

"I'm not gonna judge it either way. I'm gay myself, if that's the answer you were gonna give"

"Oh really? What a coincidence! Yeah, Charlotte and I have been going out a few months actually. Can we help you with your stuff?" Cordelia looked over my shoulder at the mass of boxes.

"If you've got nothing better to do, be my guests, honestly. I only made a start about an hour ago"

The two of them stepped through my door, Charlotte hanging up her coat on the way in. "Where do we start?" She questioned. "You've got a surprising amount of boxes for one guy..."

I thanked the stars that the box full of the stuff Whizzer left behind was out of sight. "Uh, anywhere" I muttered. "I made a little start in the bedroom if you girls could maybe start in another room? I don't mind where things go, so long as I don't end up with small piles of everything on the floor"

Cordelia gave a nod. "We can do that, yeah"

"Thanks. I honestly appreciate the hand"

"No problem Marvin"

I heard the two of them head for the kitchen as I slipped away towards the bedroom. They seemed nice, I supposed. Better since I could easily imagine them as becoming friends of mine. That was the goal, anyway. Maybe it was that, after everything that had happened with me, I could use a friend or two.

I started working on a few of the boxes, and suddenly, Whizzer came to mind again.  
"No, not right now" I muttered and shook my head gently.  
But, he was still there. I tried to get on with it, and then I heard my voice of reason telling me I'd done something that bad, and somehow, I had to fix it. I had to fix it.

I already knew it, but there was always the possibility that he'd already moved on by now. I had to think to myself, he's got someone better. I'm the worst person he ever dated and now he's out of my sight and out of reach, he's gone and I've been replaced by some guy that he'd actually like being with, who isn't a part of a breaking family, and who could actually support him.

I'd made no progress in what I quickly discovered was the quickest twenty minutes of my life. From there, I realised that I'd be pointed out for doing nothing, and it would be a pointer that something was wrong. Because of that, I started positioning things and moving things twice as fast as I usually would. 

At this rate, I was never getting him back. Why would he even bother with me anyway?


	11. It's been too long and I hate to say I miss you

Marvin's POV

June 9th, 1981

\--

It was a full two years, of getting over us, of aquiring lesbians as best friends, and of missing Whizzer. Was that pining? Maybe, I couldn't tell, but I did sort of wonder how he was doing every now and then. Like, where he was, for example, and of he ended up with someone else for the long run.

Wherever he was, whatever he was doing, I hoped he was okay. There was a part of me that knew I still loved him. I wanted him to walk back into my life so I can see him or kiss him or even just give him a call...  
Yeah, that would be nice.

But who knows if he even wants to have anything to do with me?

He said he'd go to one of Jason's baseball games (I remember the promise) and it was my fault that he couldn't, because he was gone by the '79 game, and still gone for the '80 game.  
Today was the day for another. Since Jason had grown a fair bit close to Charlotte and Cordelia with the times he'd visited, I invited them so at least I could be in some company that didn't hate me.

So, we sat as a five: Trina and Mendel in front of us, me trying not to be awkward around them, and the girls there just trying to watch a kids game of baseball. 

Jason stood up to the plate. Time had passed, and somehow, it was the final inning of the game and, even though we knew that his team was losing, we were all watching intently to see what would happen.

And then... He showed up.

I was watching Jason, and our of the corner of my eye, I saw a tall figure approaching our group. My attention was grabbed and I turned to figure out who it was. 

"Whizzer?! What are you doing here?" I hissed quietly, physically unable to hide my surprise at seeing him right there, right in front of me. 

I had also attracted Trina's attention, and her eyes darted over towards him. "Oh my- Whizzer!"

He waved briefly. "Well, I heard there was a baseball game happening. I've missed a few, so I came to this one" he looked over at the scoreboard on the other side of the field to update himself. "Oh, last innings, huh? Damn, I've missed a lot of the game. Where is he?"

"He's batting now" I answered. He slowly nodded and I watched him descend the stairs towards the field. He stood and talked to Jason for a little before coming back up.

"Sit in front of me, Whiz. C'mon" I prompted with a smirk, getting Mendel and Trina to move over a seat each. Whizzer gave a bit of a shrug, but the other seats were occupied so he didn't really have much of an other option, so he did. 

In turn, when he'd taken his seat, Charlotte and Cordelia introduced themselves to him.

"How'd you know Marvin?" Charlotte asked while also trying to half-focus on Jason. 

"I'm his ex-boyfriend" he mumbled, and I bit my lip. Even now that title seemed a bit more awkward than it should. "You two?"

"Oh, we're his neighbours. I've heard a bit about you, I think. But, didn't you used to live together? Where have you been since, if you don't mind me asking" Cordelia leaned towards him a bit.

"I lived with my brother" he replied simply.

I heard a chorus of "woah"s and "wait!"s and I was alerted to attention, to discover Jason had hit what looked like a home run. I nudged Whizzer and he looked up to where I was pointing. 

"Yeah! Home run!" He cheered, eyeing the ball as it raced through the air.  
But for some reason, Jason was still standing there.

"Run!" We all shouted in unison, and he started to scramble to first base. We cheered. Sure, they'd lost the game, but Jason had hit one incredible shot. 

He came to us after the game, and smiled when he saw Whizzer. "Glad you could make it!"

"Glad I could be here for a shot like that!" Whizzer grinned in return. "Shame about the result, you did great though"

"Thanks!"

\--

After a while, he left with Trina and Mendel. The girls followed shortly after, with the clearance that Charlotte was leaving for a shift soon. That left just me and Whizzer, in the slowly emptying stadium. He stood up, smoothing down his leather jacket. It was pretty obvious he intended on leaving without saying anything. To be fair, I would've let him, under the safe assumption that he had someone else to go to. 

Until he muttered, "it was nice seeing you again, Marv"

And then I froze. 

"Sorry, what?"

"It's been nice seeing you again. I mean, it's been two years, yeah? I've kinda missed you..."

I blushed a bit. "You too. I... Uh, when I moved out, I found a box of your stuff"

"You kept it with you?" He turned back around, noticing there was now barely anyone left in the stadium. 

"Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, I missed you too. And, if it's any consolation... I'm so sorry about making you leave. I- I don't really know what happened with me... Do you.. do you have another guy?"

He shook his head. "There was a guy a few months ago, but not any more, no. You?"

"No, I made friends with lesbians instead" I laughed a bit. "Look, I know it's stupid, but I wouldn't mind if you came back with me, if you wanted to"

"Can I do you one better? If you were to... Y'know, be my boyfriend again?"

I grinned. "I wouldn't mind that, Whiz"

He nodded, a smile crossing his face as well. He advanced towards me, and before I knew it, our lips had connected and I was blushing darker. I held his waist and his arms draped around my shoulders. The bleachers were empty and it was just the two of us. Absolutely perfect.

"C'mon, I gotta show you the apartment uptown"


End file.
